About to build first waterloop - can you look over?

[Galatian]

Hey guys,

I'm ready to purchase everything I need for my custom watercooling loop. Components are as follows:

• Case: Phantek Enthoo Primo
• Radiator: Alphacool NexXxos Monsta 480 mm
• Reservoir: Alphacool Repack Dual Bayres 5,25"
• Pump: Aquacomputer Aquastream XT (Eheim 1046) + In and Outlet (Inlet has a 90° Angle)
• CPU Cooler: Alphacool NexXxos XP3 Light - Brass Black + Backplate
• GPU Cooler: Watercool Heatkiller GPU-X3 GTX 680 LT + Backplate
• Fans: 4 * Enermax Magma 120mm
• Tubing: Masterkleer PVC 13/10 mm Dark Red
• Fittings: 6* 13/10 mm G1/4 straight + 2* 13/10 mm G1/4 with 90° angle (one from pump to CPU and one from reservoir to pump)
• Water/Additive: plan on using distilled water with Mayhem Biocide
• TIM: GELID Solutions GC Extreme (plan on delidding my i5-3570K)

My loop should be the like this: Pump (with straight outlet on top) --> CPU cooler (with one 90° angle coupling + 1 straight) --> GPU (with 2 straight couplings) --> Radiator (with 2 straight coupling) --> Bayres (with 1 straight coupling + one 90° angle coupling) --> Pump (with 90° inlet on the side).

I made some pictures so visualize what I'm planning:

Front

Back

I'm not sure about the straight coupling around the Radiator though. Might seem to be a better idea to use two 45° coupling from GPU to Radiator and then one 45° coupling from Raditor to Bayres?

What do you guys think?

 

[dma0991]

Your tubing runs are unnecessarily long. I understand why you placed it as such, but it affect aesthetics and it is recommended to keep tubing as short as possible. I recommend a bay reservoir and pump combo to further simplify the loop.

This guy has got it right. Do this.

 

[Galatian]

Your tubing runs are unnecessarily long. I understand why you placed it as such, but it affect aesthetics and it is recommended to keep tubing as short as possible. I recommend a bay reservoir and pump combo to further simplify the loop.

This guy has got it right. Do this.

Hmmm...I get your point but I was kinda set on the Aquacomputer Aquastream XT because it has this USB Interface with which you can control the entire pump. It even has an included temperature sensor and fan controller.

What pump + bay reservoir would you recommend?

 

[dma0991]

That's a nice pump but I'd prefer two MCP655 with the speed adjusted to middle and forget about it. It might be more troublesome to adjust later but its a novelty feature that I can live without. Its better to get a separate fan controller. Lamptron FC5v3 would be perfect if you'd prefer a more manual approach in controlling the fan speed.

As for bay reservoir + pump, if budget is tight, XSPC's single pump + MCP655 would get the job done. Better (more expensive) option would be XSPC's dual pump bay reservoir or more ideally Koolance RP-452X2 as it has a fill port at the front, which makes filling a lot easier than XSPC's bay reservoir combo. You can start off with one pump on a dual pump reservoir, then add another later if you want redundancy in case either one dies.

 

[Galatian]

That's a nice pump but I'd prefer two MCP655 with the speed adjusted to middle and forget about it. It might be more troublesome to adjust later but its a novelty feature that I can live without. Its better to get a separate fan controller. Lamptron FC5v3 would be perfect if you'd prefer a more manual approach in controlling the fan speed.

As for bay reservoir + pump, if budget is tight, XSPC's single pump + MCP655 would get the job done. Better (more expensive) option would be XSPC's dual pump bay reservoir or more ideally Koolance RP-452X2 as it has a fill port at the front, which makes filling a lot easier than XSPC's bay reservoir combo. You can start off with one pump on a dual pump reservoir, then add another later if you want redundancy in case either one dies.

Ah thanks for your reply...I saw the Alphacool Dual Laing D5 Station including 1x Alphacool VPP655. That particular pump seems to be pretty good in several tests. When I upgrade my system at some point in the future (getting more GPU + another Radiator) I will get myself a fan controller. For now I just use the included one. Do I need a Temperature Sensor right away or am I fine with just watching the CPU and GPU temps?

 

[dma0991]

What do you want to measure with a temp probe? The reading you would get with a temp probe would be far too inaccurate compared to the built in temp sensor in CPU and GPU. Temp probes that comes with fan controller or any third party solutions are only useful to measure the temps of motherboard components or get a reading of your case temps. I do recommend getting a fan controller anyway as you'd need more fan headers to power/control the 4-8 radiator fans (use a Y-splitter for each fan channel to control pairs).

 

[Galatian]

What do you want to measure with a temp probe? The reading you would get with a temp probe would be far too inaccurate compared to the built in temp sensor in CPU and GPU. Temp probes that comes with fan controller or any third party solutions are only useful to measure the temps of motherboard components or get a reading of your case temps. I do recommend getting a fan controller anyway as you'd need more fan headers to power/control the 4-8 radiator fans (use a Y-splitter for each fan channel to control pairs).

Thanks a lot for the help. The Enthoo Primo case actually has a fan controller included. I will use that. If I find it insufficient I will just get a different one.